Cotina Moore
English 1302
Essay #1 Southern Gothic Fiction
02 March 2015
“What Is In A Title”
A Literary Analysis of Flannery O’ Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge”

“I am not afraid that the book will be controversial, I’m afraid it will not be controversial-Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O’Connor is considered one of the best short story authors of the 20th century. Born in Savannah Georgia in 1925, O’Connor was a devout Catholic. Her writings incorporated religious themes and her southern life (Bio). When reading O’Connor’s short stories, it is very surprising and shocking that the stories are often dark and controversial. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” use macabre, grotesque violence, irony, and grace through the depiction of her characters to illustrate that when an individual is faced with “grave” circumstances; those are the moments when grace is realized. Flannery O’Connor incorporates the use of macabre and violence in her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” masterfully to elicit an unforgettable moment of grace from a character when faced with her “grave” circumstance. The use of grotesque violence is vividly displayed as a southern family is horrendously murdered by an escaped convict, The Misfit and his accomplices. An “eerie” sense of foreshadowing is realized when the protagonist, the grandmother, tries to dissuade her son, Bailey, through a newspaper article to take the family east to Tennessee instead of Florida. She states, “Here this fellow that calls himself The Misfit is aloose from the Federal Pen and headed towards Florida and you read here what it says he did to these people”…(O’Connor 422). To further illustrate the elements of macabre and gruesome violence, O’Connor describes the brutal and merciless deaths of each family member. Bailey, John Wesley, the mother, the baby, and June Starr are each taken into the woods and “piercing scream[s] are heard followed closely by pistol report[s].” (432). The grandmother tries to bargain with the Misfit, she pleads with him, to no avail; to spare her life, but attains grace in her final moments. The narrator says “[T]he grandmother’s head cleared for an instant”… She states, Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children!” (O’Connor 433). Violence is often associated with negative connotations, however, Flannery O’Connor believes, [V]iolence is never an end itself. It is the extreme situation that best reveals what we are essentially… (“Excerpt from “On Her Own Work”; “Passages from Flannery O’Connor’s Essays and Letters” 460).
Many of O’Connor stories infer different types of irony. Through her characters’ actions, O’Connor reveals her “astute observation of the limitations of all human awareness.”… (“Excerpt from “The Author’s Work As Context”: “Flannery O’Connor” Mays 422). The reader sees this with Mrs. Hopewell’s character in “Good Country People.” Because of her bias assumptions of southern people, Manley Pointer, the Bible salesman, is able to convince her that he is “simple” and “good.” The narrator tells us Manley states, “I know I’m real simple… I’m just a country boy. (O’Connor 438). Mrs. Hopewell replies, “Why!” [G]ood country people are the salt of the earth!” (O’Connor 439). On the contrary, Mrs. Hopewell is unaware of Manley Pointer’s true character, which is that of a deceptive con artist. O’Connor’s illustration of situational irony is gleaned when the protagonist, Joy-Hulga’s character, attempts unsuccessfully to seduce Manley Pointer, and tries to “enlighten” him with a “deeper understanding of life.” (442). She, too, does not learn the true nature of his intent until he seduces her instead, and steals her wooden leg. He “enlightens” her and says, “You ain’t so smart. I been believing in nothing ever since I was born!”… (O’Connor 447). O’Connor’s use of irony in “Good Country People” is a direct connection from her religious beliefs. To make her stories work she states, “[I]t is probably some action or gesture which was both totally right and unexpected… [I]t would have to suggest both the world and eternity.” (“Excerpt from “On Her Own Work”; ”Passages from Flannery O’Connor’s Essays and Letters” 460).
O’Connor’s works render an opportunity for characters to achieve “moments of grace”.
In her story, “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” Julian’s and his mother’s character are given such opportunities for grace. Julian Chestny, an unemployed writer, lives with his mother and he considers himself a failure. [“Someday] I’ll start making money, [he] said gloomily-he knew he never would.”… (O’Connor 448). Julian is very bitter at his mother because of her ignorant, oppressive, and bigoted views towards black people. His mother cannot move past the old southern culture she is accustomed to. The narrator tells us she states “Your great-grandfather was a former governor of the state”…[He] had a plantation and two hundred slaves.” Julian replies, [Look around, there are no more slaves.]” (O’Connor 449). The reader sees Julian openly rebels against his mother to annoy her, and he tries to teach her a lesson throughout the story. The encounter on the bus with Carver, the little black boy, is an opportunity for Julian’s mother “moment of grace”. However, her bigoted and condescending views of blacks cause a violent encounter that elicits grace. She gives the little boy a penny and is viciously struck by his mother. She wanders aimlessly for a few moments and says, “Tell grandpa to come get me.” (O’Connor 457). Julian sorrowfully realizes his “moment of grace” when his mother dies. He shouts, [“Mama, Mama! Help, Help! Guilt and sorrow consumes him.”] (O’Connor 458). The extension of grace is given to O’Connor’s characters through dark and disturbing ways but “grace changes us and the change is painful” (qtd in Hill).
Clearly, Flannery O’Connor’s religious beliefs and southern upbringing influence her Southern Gothic writing style. Her propensity for violence, macabre, and morbidity are hallmarks of her style. Indeed, Flannery O’ Connor’s characters in “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” Good Country People,” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” portray all of the aforementioned elements “to help bring life to her characters and add to their humanity.”(qtd in Hill).

Works Cited
Flannery O’ Connor.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 22 Feb.
Hill, Erin. “Southern Gothic Literature.” Course Materials. Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Feb. 2015.
O’Connor Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. ED. Kelly J. Mays. New York w.w. Norton & Company, 2013 422-433.
---. “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. ED. Kelly J. Mays. New York w.w. Norton & Company, 2013 447-458.
---. “Excerpts from “On Her Own Work”: “Passages from Flannery O’Connor’s Essays and Letters.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. ED. Kelly J. Mays. New York w.w. Norton & Company, 2013 419-422.
---. “Good Country People.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. ED. Kelly J. Mays. New York w.w. Norton & Company, 2013 433-447.
Mays, Kelly. “Excerpts from “The Author’s Work as Context”: “Flannery O’ Connor.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 11th ed. ED. Kelly J. Mays. New York w.w. Norton & Company, 2013 419-422.